Derek Anderson has to be one of the luckiest guys in the world.
First, he was born with the ability to get drafted to the NFL. That is a feat and result of good luck in the first place.
Secondly, coming into 2007 NFL season, Derek Anderson had battled Charlie Frye so closely for the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback position that the coaching staff elected to toss a coin in order to determine their season-opening starter.
Well, Charlie Frye won the toss and proceeded to be completely beat up by the aggressive and talented defense of the Pittsburgh Steelers. His poor performance (which was not really his fault at all) would result in Frye being traded to Seattle and Derek getting the nod as the starter for Week 2 against the much weaker defense of the Cincinnati Bengals.
In that Week 2 showdown, Derek Anderson through for over 400 yards and 3 touchdowns against Cincinnati’s paucity of pass defense and tackling. Derek Anderson would go on to showcase his talents up until this very point in the season, well past the halfway mark.
Derek Anderson has come out of nowhere, which means he is playing for a relatively small contract worth only a couple hundred thousand dollars after taxes. However, with the level of play he has exhibited during and since that Week 2 game against the Bengals, he is do for a major pay day at the end of the season.
The only thing inhibiting Derek Anderson’s payday is the fact that he will only be a restricted free agent as opposed to an unrestricted free agent a season’s end. This means that any team can bid on him, but that team would have to surrender draft picks to the Browns, and the Browns can elect to match any offer another team gives Anderson. The fact that a team would have to give up a draft pick means that the will not be as likely to invest as much as they would if they did not have to give up something else of value, i.e. the draft pick. In addition, the fact that the Browns can match any team’s offer is kind of a deterrent because teams do not want to waste their time or put in a ridiculous offer to make sure the other team cannot match it.
Nevertheless, even with those limitations Anderson is still due to get a lot of money at the end of season, because somebody will want a 6’6” quarterback who has a 95.5 quarterback rating through 6 games. Unless the unexpected happens (injury, emotions) expect Anderson to reap the rewards of free agency this off-season for what should be a multi-million dollar offer.
As for his back up, college sensation Brady Quinn, well he will have to wait for his next big pay day, because it will probably be the Browns who give Anderson the big dollars.
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